swarm

Swarm

Dispatch contract. Resolve each worker descriptor through provider-dispatch.md. The parent starts native and external lanes; workers never route themselves. On Codex, resolve remaining Claude tool names via codex-tools.md.

Start

Open a todolist with one entry per phase before launching anything.

1. Frame
2. Fan out
3. Aggregate
4. Report

Phase A: Frame

1. State the done predicate and the artifact or report the swarm must return.
2. Choose the shape. Partition into slices, race N workers on identical briefs, or mix both. For a race or mixed shape, declare first pass, rank all, or best-of before spawning.
3. Pick the worker descriptor from swarm workers in the current harness's pstack model sheet when present. Otherwise use its role default. For a model race, name each arm's descriptor up front. Pick each subagent's effort for the job, per the Subagents section of the poteto-mode skill.
4. Give each worker its own writable output when it writes. When workers verify or measure commits, each brief names the exact SHAs. A measurement brief also names the method (sample count, what one sample is, order). The worker records both in its result.

Phase B: Fan out

Start all N workers in one fan-out phase through provider dispatch. Native lanes use background subagents; external lanes invoke the launcher as background work with retained task/session handles. Never use Claude's foreground Bash path for a long worker. Every writer runs in its assigned worktree or output directory. Isolation comes from those paths, not the provider.

When a worker must start from a non-default branch, check that branch out in the worker's own worktree and name the worktree path in its brief.

Every brief stands alone. Include the goal, scope, exact slice or race arm, how to verify, and what to report. Reports use PASS, ISSUES, or BLOCKED with evidence. A worker that can prove a defect reports ISSUES and lists every issue it can prove, not only the first.